MicroRNA ‐23a‐3p promotes macrophage M1 polarization and aggravates lipopolysaccharide‐induced acute lung injury by regulating PLK1 / STAT1 / STAT3 signalling

作者：Tao Jiang, Li Sun, Jun Zhu, Ning Li, Haibo Gu, Ying Zhang, Miaomiao Li, Jiayao Xu · 发表于：International Journal of Experimental Pathology · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.1111/iep.12445 · 被引用次数：25 · 研究领域：Immune cells in cancer、MicroRNA in disease regulation、Inflammation biomarkers and pathways

Macrophage polarization is an important effector process in acute lung injury (ALI) induced by sepsis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as important players in regulating ALI process. Here, we showed that elevated microRNA-23a-3p (miR-23a-3p) promoted LPS-induced macrophage polarization and ALI in mice, while inhibition of miR-23a-3p led to reduced macrophage response and ameliorated ALI inflammation. Mechanically, miR-23a-3p regulated macrophage M1 polarization through targeting polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1). PLK1 was downregulated in LPS-treated macrophages and ALI mouse lung tissues. Knockdown of PLK1 increased macrophage M1 polarization through promoting STAT1/STAT3 activation, while overexpression of PLK1 reduced macrophage immune response. Collectively, our results reveal a key miRNA regulon that regulates macrophage polarization for LPS-induced immune response.